ESPN has the Friday night NBA package and the opening of the doubleheader this week is Rockets at Spurs. My cohort Jason Lake will preview the nightcap of Nuggets at Blazers.

This already will be Houston’s last visit of the season to San Antonio and we aren’t even to December. The Spurs head to H-Town on Dec. 22 and March 22. Since winning back-to-back games in San Antonio early on in the 2013-14 season, the Rockets have dropped seven of their past nine there.

On Nov. 10, the Rockets were 3.5-point favorites in the Alamo City but lost 96-89 in the front end of a back-to-back. LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan was held to 13 points but added 11 assists. Rudy Gay was out injured. San Antonio hit 10-for-20 from deep.

The Rockets shot just 33.3 percent overall and 9-for-41 from 3-point range. They were held to 18 fourth-quarter points and hit only 28 percent in that frame. James Harden finished with 25 points but was a ghastly 1-for-12 from deep. Eric Gordon had 23 but 3-for-14 from long range. Dating back to last season, Harden is shooting only 36.6 percent overall vs. the Spurs and 20.8 percent from deep.

San Antonio returns home, where it’s 6-3 (5-4 ATS), off a four-game road trip. The Spurs might have been gassed on Wednesday because they were creamed at Minnesota, 128-89, easily the biggest loss of the year. That game was over after a second quarter in which the Timberwolves outscored the Spurs 29-9. No San Antonio player had more than 14 points, but at least no key guy played more than 28 minutes.

The team remains without Pau Gasol, who hasn’t played since Nov. 4 due to a stress fracture in his right foot and he won’t be in there Friday. Dante Cunningham and Jakob Poeltl, part of the Kawhi Leonard trade along with DeMar DeRozan, have seen an uptick in minutes with Gasol out.

It’s the front end of a back-to-back for Houston, which hosts Chicago on Saturday. Might Coach Mike D’Antoni sit anyone here? The Rockets started 4-7 and looked to have righted the ship with five straight wins but have now lost four in a row following Wednesday’s shockingly one-sided 128-108 home defeat to Dallas, which had dropped eight straight vs. Houston.

Harden had 25 points, 17 assists (tying career high), 11 rebounds and six steals, but the Rockets simply aren’t the same without Chris Paul, who sat his third in a row with a hamstring injury. Houston is 15-14 the past two seasons when Paul is out (0-5 this year). Doubtful he plays here, especially with another game Saturday. Harden did join Magic Johnson as the only players to get at least 25 points, 11 rebounds, 17 assists and six steals since steals became an official stat in 1973-74.

Rockets are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games.

Spurs are 15-6 ATS in their last 21 home games.

The home team has covered four of the past five in the series and that should continue for a Friday NBA pick. You shouldn’t be backing Houston without Paul at 100 percent regardless, but especially not on the road.